


King on the Chessboard

by zevsky



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, Random & Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-17 22:11:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20628344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zevsky/pseuds/zevsky
Summary: The Inquisitor (Aurel Trevelyan) and Varric share a private conversation in Skyhold's main hall, when he asks Aurel what he considers his biggest weakness. He struggles to answer, but when he does, Varric finds out way more about him than he initially thought he would.





	King on the Chessboard

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Thank you for reading my (very) short fanfiction. This work was actually prompted by a challenge, where artists and writers were asked to display their OC's or any canon character's biggest weakness. As this fic is focused only on that, it is very short, kind of like a short story with a twist and a ""moral"" at the end. It also uses some symbolism and very descriptive writing, so don't expect any thrilling action or lots of stuff going on. I ask you to consider that when reading. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this small snippet of text, do let me know if you did!  
Have fun reading~

“What would you consider your biggest weakness, Inquisitor?”

The question echoed through his mind like a distant memory, as if he was asked this exact question some time ago and now he was reminded again that the person asking wants an answer. He was about to get up to get a bottle of wine, but the question pressed him back into the chair and somewhat overwhelmed he looked back at his company at one of the tables in the Skyhold main hall. They weren’t alone there; the Orlesian nobles, that insisted on staying here at Skyhold to “improve relations with the Inquisition”, were chatting and talking in small groups that quickly formed and fell apart as no one was really interested in one another and what they did and experienced in life, but they engaged in intense conversation anyway because they felt that they had to. It made the Inquisitor feel isolated and sometimes intimidated even, as he never understood the silent rule to speak and talk endlessly without having anyone really listen.

“A weakness?”

He squinted, then turned away. The crackling of fire and the surrounding conversations filled the silence between them the question caused, but this time it was a comfortable one. It gave him time, he was not forced to immediately answer.

“A weakness. Everyone has at least one, an Inquisitor as well”, Varric answered.

“What is this for, Varric? Are you writing a new book?”

The dwarf cackled. He was writing a new story, indeed. Someone had to tell the story of the Inquisition correctly and authentically. But he was not interested in including this conversation in it.

“Weaknesses say a lot about a person obviously, maybe even more than their strengths and talents.”

Varric was asking out of pure curiosity. The Inquisitor was a universally interesting figure; one shouldn’t miss the chance to get to know his deepest, darkest secrets when the opportunity, like this personal and private conversation, arose. He was also asking as a friend. Varric perhaps couldn’t help the Inquisitor in a way the Commander or his other advisors could, but he wanted to help as a friend. Usually he felt small and, frankly, insignificant even. Knowing the Inquisitor personally and having him trust him enough to share this conversation with him would free him of these feelings, and maybe the Inquisitor of a burden.

The Inquisitor took a deep breath and sighed when he exhaled. He contemplated, took the question in and carefully thought about what he was going to answer, choosing his exact words with care.

He did not come far however, as the sound of the opening door next to them disrupted his train of thought. Dorian stepped into the hall and approached them at the table.

When he did, Aurel’s expression brightened immediately and he jumped up from his chair, filled with a renewed lightness. Varric could clearly tell that Dorian did things to the Inquisitor’s mind and heart no one else could. Aurel was a reserved person, always was, always will be. But when Dorian was around, the Inquisitor seemed more comfortable and content in a social setting than he was without him. No wonder he brought his lover to any big event he was invited to. The charismatic Tevinter mage turned the scared introvert into an excited and excellent player of The Game. He turned him into a man he aspired to be.

Dorian stood and looked at the Inquisitor and he looked back at him for just a second too long; it seemed as if they communicated purely through thought and Dorian asked for a word with him.

Aurel walked up to him really close and turned one ear into his direction, so that Dorian could talk to him as discreetly as possible. The mage put his hands on the Inquisitor’s shoulders and whispered something inaudible and the Inquisitor whispered back as if they were in a loud hall, filled to the ceiling with people and no one was allowed to hear just one word of what they said. Eventually, the Inquisitor nodded and Dorian turned around and left, taking all the light and warmth in the room with him. Aurel remained in the spot he was standing. Without turning back around to Varric he said:

“I think my biggest weakness is that I am a weak person.”

Varric squinted and tried to make sense of the rather cryptic answer to his question he just received. He asked the Inquisitor to elaborate.

“I cannot do things myself. I have always needed someone by my side. If I can’t have that, I’m as useful as a dagger grip without a blade.”

Without Cullen, he would have no idea what military actions to take. Without Josephine he would probably dig his own grave in politics right now, make enemies where there could be precious friends and allies. Without Lelianna he would have no clue what was going on in Thedas. He perhaps was the Inquisitor, but he never made decisions by himself. Without his advisors and companions and his lover he would have succumbed to his own inability to move a long time ago, and Thedas with him. Like a king on a chess board, he was the piece with the least abilities to move.

“I am only Inquisitor because of this dreadful thing”, he raised his left hand, which glowed up in a bright green, “not because I have any qualifying abilities to be one. I probably shouldn’t be one.”

Varric failed to find the words to express how he felt about the rather specific answer. He expected everything, from being bad at reading maps to loving cats too much. But not something so depressing and deeply rooted. He now understood why Aurel hated his title and his position so much. But he also understood that the “weakness” he stated, might not be the main problem here.

“Do you want to know what I think?”, Varric answered after a long pause of him being surprised, then depressed and eventually impressed, “I think you’re not giving yourself enough credit.”

Aurel now turned around to face him, visibly confused.

“You doubt yourself constantly, weighting the things you didn’t do more than the things you actually did yourself!“

He got up from his chair and walked up to the Inquisitor. He smiled reassuringly.

“You sound like Cole”, Aurel answered unimpressed, even though he very much was.

“Perhaps. That doesn’t change my point though.”

Varric stumbled back to his usual place next to the fire place, self assured.

“You need more confidence in yourself. You have made decisions so crucial they saved lives back at Haven. Without your advisors. In a matter of seconds.”

The Inquisitor scratched the back of his head, accepting his inevitable defeat in this discussion. He cleared his throat and avoided eye contact in discomfort.

“Thank you, Varric. I’m glad to have you here, too. You’ve always been a great help as well”, he said eventually. He was not offended by what he said, he just needed time to process it.

The two of them felt lighter now. His words may have not changed the Inquisitor’s attitude, but he remembered them closely in times of weakness.

The Inquisitor may be the king on the chess board, barely able to move, but the whole game is still dependent on him and no rule ever says he has to be on the chess board alone.


End file.
